Civil libertarians worry about USDA's animal registration program

Two post-9/11 security programs have been at the top of the agenda for civil libertarians: The Patriot Act and the NSA domestic spying. There is a third item moving up on the agenda of those worried about threats to liberty: NAIS (National Animal Identification System). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has mandated that, as of June 2006, the GPS coordinates, name, address, phone, and other data on every farm, home, and other location that has even a single animal will have to register with a government Premise ID. In the second phase of NAIS, every single animal at home or on the farm will be tagged with an RFID. Owners of animals will then be required to log, track, and report all events such as the birth of an animal, death of an animal, animals leaving or entering the property, and more. All reports must be made within twenty-four hours.

-read more in this discussion